Simple Language, Powerful Contexts

Biography
Louise Gluck, a modern poet of Hungarian-Jewish

decent-born in New York City in 1943, raised in Rhode Island. Gluck experienced a privileged childhood-- in part because her father helped to invent the X-Acto knife She attended Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York and Columbia University, in New York City; additionally, she earned a law degree at Williams College Had a bout with anorexia in college ---7 years of psychotherapy

Acomplishments
. In 1968, Gluck published her first work First Born at the age

of twenty five has received every imaginable national award for American poetryincluding the Pulitzer for the Wild Iris (1992) In year 2003, Gluck was named the 12th Poet Laureate of the United States. As far as recognition goes, she has been exonerated in a vast array of literary journals and newspaper reviews for over three decades and holds honorary degrees, and a position at Yale

Social and Political Sphere of the 1960s

one theme is indicative of the time: social change . Often young

college students, became disillusioned with the ultraconservative values and beliefs that had been enforced in the preceding years. The departure of traditional views was expressed through addressing issues such as: sexual freedom, contraception, abortion. Movements that arose out of this deviation from tradition in political and social perception were: anti-war protests, second wave of feminism, gay and lesbians "coming out" and the Civil Rights Movement. Those who participated in these various movements for social change were deemed the "counterculture".

 The changing perspectives and practices in sexuality

during this time is regarded as "the sexual revolution". Interestingly, those who were under the radar or overtly for the cause of sexual liberation were a considerably smaller group in comparison to the majority of traditionalists still adhering to the idea of sex as a benefit of marriage. Thus, it is important to recognize how shifts in the realm of sexuality opened the door for other monumental issues that dealt with social change.

 For women in particular, contraception made it possible to have

sexual liberties that had otherwise been withheld for centuries. In 1951, Women's Rights advocate Margaret Sanger raised $150,000 for the birth control pill's construction. This innovation was promoted by the Food and Drug Administration and doctor's. The availability of contraception gave women more say about their bodies. Thus, the notion of "choice" became a reoccurring idea of the movement for women's rights. It has been noted that by the year 1962, there were over a million women using the Pill

 The feminist movement began to gain force in the early

1960's In 1963 Betty Freidan published a feminist book titled "The Feminine Mystique" where she blatantly challenges the traditional expectations that women belonged in the home wearing a fashionable apron Just like anti-war protests, women began to assemble and vocalizes their dissatisfaction.

 Women poets expressed their deep feelings that often

dealt with eroticism, loss, disappointment and passion and hope for equality. Poets like: Louise Gluck, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lord continue to be thought of as monumental voices of the times More women writers and poets were published and thus the anthem of the feminist movement was spread.

Louise Gluck: The Artist Activist

Glucks originality as a poet began when she was a college

student during the thrust of social and political change of the 1960s. What is most pioneering perhaps is her use of technical precision juxtaposed with simplistic language. The themes she often writes on are relatable to a vast audience, yet, with skill she is removed from the emotion of the poem, telling it like it is. Gluck (pronounced Glick) directs her attention to the subjects of: longing, loneliness, divorce, death, disappointment, waste, senility, passion and betrayal.
Gluck once said, Writing is not decanting of personalityThe

truth on the page, need not have been lived. It is instead, all that can be envisioned.

 Gluck was, and is, mesmerized by the probable outcomes of

different contexts through language and believes that simple language is the most useful in achieving a monumental message. Gluck allows her poems to be representative of an honest observation of her own life and the commonality of life experiences shared by others.

A Poem

The Edge Time and again, time and again I tie My heart to that headboard While my quilted cries Harden against his hand. Hes bored I see it. Dont I lick his bribes, set his bouquets In water? Over Mothers lace I watch him drive into the gored Roasts, deal slivers in his mercyI can feel his thighs Against me for the childrens sakes. Reward? Mornings, crippled with this house, I see him toast his toast and test His coffee, hedgingly. The wastes my breakfast.

 A formative voice in the modern/contemporary literary

sphere, Louise Gluck epitomizes innovation as she is a poet still in practice. Gluck has been referred to a poet of a fallen world. Though shock value was not her immediate intention---her provocative imagery often stunned readers into further inquiry of her style. Feminists have found Glucks poems of interest: due in part to the themes that relate to the gender roles and identities. Naturally, her poetry evokes varied reactions. Some critics recognize her attempts of illustrating female response in a male-centric society, while others posit that Gluck creates a negative image of women in crisis. Either way, she is notably a respected American poet. Her talent is significant in that it has inspired men and women alike to explore the poetry as an artistic language that gives meaning to our circumstances which in turn enables effective activism.